The Impact of VR Application on Student’s Competency Development: A Comparative Study of Regular and VR Engineering Classes with Similar Competency Scopes

This research focuses on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Korean National Competency Standards. The aim of this research is to perform a comparative study of two university engineering courses to present the difference between the effect of virtual reality (VR)-based teaching and traditional teaching on learning robotics. To achieve this goal, the authors used the expert method, focus group interviews, and a comparative study. There were three hypotheses and four research questions on the relationship between teaching method and competency development. As a case study for this research, the authors chose Korea University of Technology and Education and designed a survey to assess students’ competencies. The participants were second- and third-grade university students. Quantitative data were collected from the interview forms developed by the researcher; qualitative data were analyzed using the expert method and a comparative study. A significant difference was observed between competency development in the VR class and that in a regular class with a similar syllabus. Furthermore, it was noted that different teaching methods affect competency development in different ways; VR tools develop some competencies, but not all of them. Authors found that the VR tool requires an appropriate teaching method and affects the student’s ability to develop competencies.